The Truth
by Written in the Ashes
Summary: After Makarov's death, the guild regroups to mourn their loss and devise a plan of action. Natsu, Gray, and Juvia are heavily injured, but only Natsu does not wake up. Questions are thrown around about the origin of Natsu's tumor and what really happened when he fought with Zeref. Mostly based off canon.
1. The Seeds of Doubt

**A/N: This story was written after chapter 509 of Fairy Tail. This is my first story, so constructive criticism is very much welcome!**

* * *

Grief barraged Fairy Tail on all sides. Many had witnessed Gramps make the ultimate sacrifice. Though golden light had bathed his body while he was performing the spell, Fairy Law had drained him of his life, his vitality, and now left an albino husk behind.

As if Gramps' death wasn't enough, Juvia, Gray, and Natsu arrived at Fairy Tail's temporary camp unconscious and seriously injured. Porlyusica and Wendy hovered around them, while the rest of the guild prepared a temporary grave for Gramps.

Erza was missing, trapped in a fight with a red-haired Spriggan.

Mavis was strangely quiet and was unable to meet anyone's eyes. She sat dejected on the ground, unmoving. Happy sulked beside her, feeling too guilty to speak to anyone.

Juvia woke up first. She rejoiced when she saw Gray lying next to her, mostly healed. The news of Gramps's death shattered her mood like a hammer.

Gray awoke next. When he laid eyes on Juvia, he burst into tears and wrapped his arms around her, his heart melting like ice in the spring.

Natsu did not wake up. Not yet.

* * *

Gildarts called a meeting. Everyone reluctantly left Gramps' body and gathered by the boulder on which Gildarts stood.

"This has been the darkest day Fairy Tail has seen," he said. "We've lost our home, our spirit, and our much beloved Master. But Fairy Tail will live on. Gramps will live on. As long as we can remember Gramps…he will never truly-" his sentence was cut off as sobs shook his body. Everyone was crying, even Brandish.

"I wanted to wait until Erza gets back and Natsu wakes up before we give Gramps a proper burial," Gildarts said a few minutes later, sniffling. "But we don't even know if Erza _will_ come back."

A bunch of fearful murmuring broke out, until a steady voice rang out, saying, "She will be back," The voice belonged to Lucy. She had wiped away her tears and now stood up strong. "We cannot lose faith in our comrades. We'll take back the guild hall, and then we'll give Gramps a proper burial. We're going to defeat Zeref. Once we do that, we can properly mourn Gramps. Until then, we cannot rest until Zeref receives justice for what he's done."

She held up the number one in a classic Fairy Tail salute. The rest of the guild followed her, leaving Brandish standing there a bit awkwardly. No one noticed that Happy didn't join in.

Meanwhile, Natsu slept on, oblivious.

* * *

"Now," said Gildarts, "we need to discuss our next guild master and we need to come up with a plan for defeating Zeref."

"Why don't you be the next guild master, Gildarts?" asked Levy.

Gildarts shook his head. "I was hoping it would be Laxus or Erza. What do you think, Mavis?"

Mavis was staring off into space, a helpless look on her face.

"Mavis?" Gildarts said again.

Mavis blinked. "Huh? What?"

"Are you alright?" asked Mirajane.

She shrugged miserably. "It's my fault Makarov died. I should have stopped him!" She buried her face in her hands.

"It's not your fault," Cana wrapped her arm around Mavis. "You couldn't have stopped him, no one could. You-"

"I hate to interrupt, but I'm afraid I have bad news," Porlyusica interjected.

Silence stole the words of comfort from Cana's mouth. The whole gathering froze, unable to bear more heartache.

At first, no one dared to speak. No one wanted to know what tragedy would befall them next. At last, Wendy braved the question. "What is it?"

Porlyusica's eyes were shadowed, her appearance haggard. "It's Natsu. He might die."

At first, the words didn't register in Lucy's brain. They were a meaningless jumble, like the nonsense sounds a baby makes. But even if her brain didn't understand the words, her heart did, for she felt a sharp pang in her chest, and her eyes brimmed with tears. "What? What did you say?"

The older woman looked at her with eyes that had seen many tragedies before. "I'm sorry, my child, but Natsu might not wake up."

Lucy felt her knees buckle. All she could think was _NO. NO-NO-NO-NO-NO._

"Lucy!" Levy exclaimed, pulling her friend back to her feet.

"What do you mean he won't wake up?" growled Gajeel.

Porlyusica sighed and crossed her arms. "When Natsu fought Zeref, he developed a tumor. At first I thought it was an anti-ethernano tumor, but now… now it's something much worse. I'm afraid the tumor is something demonic. Instead of attacking his magic, it attacks his very soul."

"It's all my fault!" Brandish cried. "If I hadn't restored his tumor to its original size, none of this would've happened."

"No, what you did changed nothing. The outcome would've been the same, it just would've taken longer," Porlyusica scowled.

"What do you mean Natsu has a demonic tumor?" shouted Gajeel. "Did a demon give it to him or something?"

"But when did Natsu come into contact with a demon?" asked Levy. "Did he get the tumor when we were fighting Tartaros?"

Gray opened his mouth to reveal what Invel told him. The words were there, staring him right in the face. All he had to do was reach for them. But he couldn't. His fight with Natsu was like a fever dream. The thought of Juvia's death had blinded him, and in his rage he only sought to inflict pain, to have someone feel the pain he felt. He still didn't trust Natsu, but at the same time…he couldn't bring himself to believe that Natsu was E.N.D.

"I don't know how he got it," Porlyusica said. "Only Happy would know, since he's the only one who witnessed the fight.

Everyone stared at Happy, who immediately looked guiltily at the ground.

"Happy, is there something you know, something you're not telling us?" accused Gray.

"Gray, how could you say that!" reprimanded Lucy. "Of course Happy's told us all he knows!"

"It is a dark day when one cannot trust his own friends, Gray-sama," Juvia said. "Is something wrong? You can tell Juvia anything."

"Nothing's wrong, it's just…" he trailed off, covering his eyes with his hand.

He was lying.

He knew it.

Juvia knew it.

They all knew it.

Fairy Tail was falling apart.


	2. Budding Conflict

**A/N: I meant to post this much earlier, I'm sorry! I was busy for a little while, and then I got a bad case of writer's block. Anyway, it's here now. I hope you like it!**

* * *

Ezra was in danger. That was the first thought that swam to the surface of Kagura's muddled mind. Her vision swung in and out of focus, and pain stabbed the back of her head. When she saw the blood caked under her fingernails, the sudden return of her memory jolted her awake.

Kagura scrambled to her knees, searching for any threats. She seized up her sword from the ground, its familiar touch reassuring. A blinding light blazed up suddenly, and Kagura threw up an arm to shield her eyes. The brilliance soon faded, revealing Sting and Larcade a few feet apart and glaring at one another.

Erza was in danger. Natsu seemed nice enough, but she didn't really know him. Kagura was no fool; she knew appearances could be deceiving. He could betray Erza, or worse, hurt her. That wasn't going to happen, not on her watch.

"Kagura," a weak voice said behind her.

She whirled around, sword at the ready. The voice belonged to Rogue, slumped against a boulder. His face was covered in dirt, and dried blood speckled one of his sleeves, but he otherwise seemed unharmed.

"When did you get there?" she demanded.

Rogue shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You should get yourself to safety while you still have the chance."

"But Sting…" Kagura protested, glancing over her shoulder at the two warring figures wreathed in light.

"I gave him some of my power, he'll be fine," Rogue argued.

Now that she looked harder, Kagura could see a good amount of shadow rolling off Sting as well. "Alright, I'll go," she conceded. She needed to warn Erza about Natsu anyway. Kagura rose slowly to her feet and, using her sword as a cane, she hobbled in the direction of Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail gathered around Natsu's prone body. Worries and speculations churned in everyone's minds. The guild peppered Happy with questions, which he answered with the cautiousness of a man navigating through landmines.

Gray stared on in stony silence, battling with his memory and conscience. Had Natsu even admitted to being E.N.D. during their fight? Had he? Gray remembered Natsu swearing to kill Zeref as if his death was a panacea for all the evil in the world. Then Gray remembered his own rage swelling up within him and taking hold, like a parasite. He had only wanted blood for blood.

Gray still thirsted for revenge, revenge for his mother, who died at the hands of Deliora, for Ur, who gave her life to defeat him, for Juvia, who almost died at the hands of Zeref's henchman. But most of all, he wanted vengeance for his dad, who even in death could not find peace. E.N.D. raised the guild Tartaros, the guild that caused so much pain for Fairy Tail and brought his dad back to life. His dad's final wish was for Gray to kill E.N.D., the monster capable of destroying the world. If Natsu was a demon, Gray would strike him down.

But what if Invel had been lying? After all, why would Alvarez want E.N.D. dead? What if he was just trying to take advantage of Gray? A dark part of him answered, the part of him that would kill ruthlessly for revenge. What if Invel was right, and all along Natsu had been playing them for fools? What if Natsu was just waiting for the right time to betray them? Gray vowed to tear Natsu to shreds if he turned out to be a demon, for his own sake and for his father's.

Meanwhile, Lucy cradled Natsu's head in her lap. Her eyes had bled dry from crying and her still body shook. Although Natsu didn't appear to be in pain, the look on his face was far from peaceful. He kept muttering unintelligibly, which she would have found cute under normal circumstance.

Lucy felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Levy's. "Don't worry, Lu," she said. "I'm sure Natsu will push through this. He's fought his way out of deadly situations before, after all."

Lucy tried to force a smile, but abandoned her attempt when all she could manage was a grimace. No one, no matter how strong, was invincible.

A clamor rose up behind her, but Lucy couldn't care less. All she cared about was holding onto Natsu.

"It's Kagura!"

"Are you alright?"

"What happened?"

Kagura gasped, trying to catch her breath. She'd limped as fast as she could, and along the way one of her injuries reopened, blood pouring down her side. "Where's Erza?" she asked once she found her breath again.

Silence met her question. Fear gripped Kagura's heart. Was she too late? Had Natsu already revealed his true colors?

"Where's Natsu?" she growled. "If her hurt her, I swear…" She dropped off at the confused faces of Fairy Tail.

Gray's ears practically pricked like a cat's at Kagura's words. Here was someone who could confirm whether or not Natsu was E.N.D.

"What do you mean? Natsu would never hurt anybody," Lucy objected, stirred from her spot at Natsu's side. She gently rested his head on the ground before rising to her feet.

Kagura felt the color drain from her face, her fears on the verge of being confirmed. "You really don't know?" Her voice shook. She didn't know many people in Fairy Tail besides Erza. It wasn't her place to tell them, yet they desperately needed to know.

"Know what?" Gray asked, hungering for the words that would clear up his confliction like the sun peering through the clouds on a stormy day.

"Zeref's last name is Dragneel. Natsu is his younger brother," she blurted out in a quick stream of words.

White noise. That was all Lucy could hear. Then Dimaria's words filled the static in her mind. _People don't know as much about those around them as they think. Even the ones you consider to be precious friends and comrades have a hidden side to them._

But that couldn't be true. Natsu was her friend, more than her friend if she was being entirely honest with herself. He wouldn't hide something so important from her. He wouldn't.

"We can't trust her! She's making stuff up!" someone shouted/

Kagura mumbled something too quiet for Gray to hear. "Everybody shut up!" he yelled.

Surprisingly, everyone listened. "Where did you learn this?" he asked Kagura.

"I fought with a man claiming to be Zeref's son, Larcade Dragneel. He told me," she explained. "Sting said he smelled just like Natsu. He's fighting Larcade now."

Gasps ran through the gathering. "Zeref has a son?" someone asked, incredulous.

Mavis went white, a look of fear on her face, but no one noticed. The guild was too busy trying to learn the truth to see her reaction.

"That's what he said," Kagura replied.

Any thought that Invel was manipulating him was dashed from Gray's mind. Indescribable rage boiled his blood. He'd trusted Natsu. He'd loved him as a brother. He'd even almost died for Natsu. Now Gray knew he loved a shadow, a mask. Natsu was not his brother but Zeref's. Natsu belonged to Tartaros, not Fairy Tail. He was not a part of their family, but their sworn enemy.

"So it's true?" Lucy asked, interrupting Gray's thoughts. "Natsu is Zeref's brother?"

"And that's not all," Gray butt in. All eyes turned to him, astonished. All eyes except Happy's, that is. "I fought with a wizard named Invel. He told me that Natsu wasn't just Zeref's brother, but one of our worst enemies, hiding under our very nose."

It was quiet enough to hear a pen drop. All stood transfixed, hanging onto Gray's words. Gray swallowed self-consciously, feeling the weight of his unspoken words. "Natsu's real name is E.N.D., which stands for Etherious Natsu Dragneel."

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" asked Juvia.

"Because I didn't want to believe it," Gray confessed, feeling the sting of Natsu's betrayal.

Lucy couldn't believe what Gray was saying. Natsu was Gray's best friend, how could Gray believe an enemy, an enemy who would say anything to win? She opened her mouth to protest, but Gray held his hand up to silence her.

"I searched for Natsu afterward, and found him heading for the guild hall. Flames engulfed him, and his hands resembled demon claws. When I confronted him about it, he did not confirm or deny that he's E.N.D. He told me to get out of his way, and we started fighting. He tried to kill me…" Gray said, then added reluctantly "and I tried to kill him as well. If it weren't for Erza, we would still be fighting."

"What?!" Lucy stammered. She could hardly believe her own ears. Natsu would never harm Gray, just as Gray would never harm Natsu.

Apparently, the rest of the guild was just as shocked as she was. "You mean to tell me that you and Salamander fought to the death?" Gajeel growled. "Are you insane?"

"Weren't you listening?" glared Gray. "Natsu's not who we thought he was. He's a blood-soaked demon. I say we kill him while we have the chance."

"NO!" screamed Lucy, throwing herself on top of Natsu. "You'll have to kill me first."

"Gray-sama is right. If Natsu's a demon, the same sort that killed Gray-sama's parents, he should be put down," argued Juvia.

Lucy rose to her feet and took a defensive stance between the guild and Natsu, fishing out Leo's key. "Natsu is not E.N.D. How can you trust Invel? I won't let you touch him."

"Lucy, I don't want to hurt you," snarled Gray. "But you need to step out of the way. If you don't, you'll die with him."

"Lucy," said Laxus, lightning circling his arms. "Move."

"You all are insane! Natsu is not our enemy!" roared Gajeel, joining Lucy as a wall protecting Natsu from the rest of the guild.

"This can't be happening," Happy whimpered, clutching the sides of his head. "Natsu, you gotta wake up."

"Everybody calm down!" ordered Levy, stepping out between the two warring groups. "We don't know Natsu's side of the story. Maybe he has a reason for hiding the fact that he's E.N.D."

"Levy, you don't really believe Natsu's E.N.D., do you?" protested Lucy.

"Sorry Lu, but it makes sense. How else would he have contracted a demonic tumor? It must be E.N.D. trying to manifest his etherious form," Levy reasoned.

"How can you say that? Natsu would never do anything to hurt us!" cried Lucy.

"I'm not saying that, I'm saying that we need to think over our next actions carefully," insisted Levy. "'A house divided against itself cannot stand,' as the saying goes."

"Listen to her!" Wendy shouted, running to stand beside Levy. "Natsu is a part of our family. We need to believe in him."

"Natsu is Zeref's family," spat Gray viciously. "Not ours."

"Family is more than blood, Gray," Gajeel retorted. "Metalicana has no blood relation to me, but he's my father. Not all the swords in the world can sever that bond."

"Justice needs to be served! He's one of Zeref's pawns!" snapped Gray. "Blood runs thicker than water. True family trumps friendship."

"Are you saying we're not a family, Gray," Mavis said softly, her voice almost a whisper.

Gray jumped. Mavis had been so quiet he had forgot she was even there. "No, First," he replied. He sounded tired, worn down by all the recent heartbreak. "I'm just saying that blood ties are stronger than adopted family. Natsu belongs to Zeref, to the demons of Tartaros. We must receive justice for all the things they've done."

"What you speak of is vengeance, not justice," sighed Mavis.

"Enough talk," Gray declared angrily, pulling off his shirt and tossing it aside. "As long as you harbor a demon, I'll consider you my enemies, no matter how much I don't want to hurt you. I'm doing this for the greater good, for Fiore and the rest of the world." And that was the truth. Gray loved Fairy Tail, but their love for Natsu had blinded Fairy Tail to the truth.

Levy and Wendy quickly backed up until they stood shoulder to shoulder with Gajeel and Lucy. Kagura and the Thunder Legion joined Laxus and Gray. Magical energy crackled through the air as the two sides prepared for combat.

"Natsu was like a brother to me, and a part of me mourns the fact that he must die. But the truth is, he tricked us. He fooled me, he fooled everybody. Without question, Natsu is E.N.D., the most powerful demon in existence. How can we allow him to live?" Gray, having said his two cents, transformed into ice devil-slayer mode.

"WAIT!" Happy screamed desperately, flying up from Natsu's side and into the fray. "You've got it all wrong! You don't know the whole story!"

Lucy's heart sank. So Happy knew all along that Natsu was E.N.D. Wait, what was she saying? Natsu couldn't be E.N.D. Happy would clear up this misunderstanding.

"I see. You hid the truth from us, Happy. You're a traitor too," accused Gray.

"I only found out recently, and so did Natsu. He didn't know he was E.N.D. any more than you," Happy tried to explain. "Please, all of you, don't hurt Natsu. He didn't know, I swear."

"Zeref!" Natsu exclaimed in his sleep, making them all jump.

A fearful silence seized Fairy Tail. Was E.N.D. about to awake?


End file.
